Operation Guide on

The Whole School Approach to

Integrated Education

Education Bureau

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

August 2008 (1st Edition)

May 2010 (2nd Edition)

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Contents

Introduction

iv

Chapter 1 An Overview on the Development of Integrated Education 1

Chapter 2 Individual Differences, Special Educational Needs and the 3-Tier Support Model

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2.1 Individual Differences and Special Educational Needs 2.2 The 3-Tier Support Model 2.3 Special Educational Needs and Intervention Strategies

3 3 4

Chapter 3 The Whole School Approach 12

3.1 Inclusion Policy 3.2 Inclusive Culture 3.3 Inclusive Practices 3.4 School Development and Accountability

13 13 13 16

Chapter 4 Early Identification and Intervention 18 4.1 Assessment Services provided by the Department of

Health & Hospital Authority 4.2 Early Identification and Intervention for Primary One

Students with Special Educational Needs# 4.3 Screening Tools for Learning Difficulties 4.4 Follow-up Support

18

19

22 24

Chapter 5 Student Support Team 28

5.1 Constituents of SST 5.2 Main duties of SST 5.3 Handling of Student Data# 5.4 Deployment of Resources 5.5 Teacher Professional Development

28 28 29 31 32

Chapter 6 Curriculum Accommodation and Differentiated Teaching 33

6.1 Tier-1: Quality Teaching 6.2 Tier-2: Additional Support 6.3 Tier-3: Intensive Individualized Support 6.4 Illustration of 3-Tiered Support*

33 34 37 40

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Chapter 7 Assessment Accommodation 46 7.1 Formative Assessment

7.2 School Internal Summative Assessment 7.3 Public Examinations 7.4 Parent Participation 7.5 On-going Review

46 47 49 49 50

Chapter 8 Home-School Co-operation 51

8.1 Regular communication mechanism between schools and parents*

8.2 Facilitating Student and Parent Participation 8.3 Mediation Mechanism 8.4 School Transparency*

51 52 53 53

Chapter 9 Use of Resources 54 9.1 Flexible Deployment of Resources

9.2 Procedures of School Application for the Learning Support Grant

9.3 Effective Use of Resources*

54 56

58

Chapter 10 Regular Progress Review 60

Chapter 11

10.1 Interim/Year-end Review 10.2 School Self-Evaluation Further Studies and Career for Students with SEN* 11.1 Completion of Schooling* 11.2 Exit Pathways for the Students with SEN*

60 60

61

61 62

Appendices 1 Case Illustrations of Integrated Education 64 2 Referral Form of Educational Psychology Service# 69

3 Sample of Learning Support Plan : Early Identification & Intervention of Learning Difficulties Programme for Primary One Pupils

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4 Student Support Team : Sample of Case Meeting Minutes 77

5 Professional Support Services 78

6

7

Sample of Student Support Register

Compliance with Personal Data (Privacy)*

87

88

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8 (i) Sample of Parent Consent Form#

(ii) Sample Letter*

(iii) Transfer of Information of Students with Special Educational Needs and Special Arrangements for the Student at Pre-S1 Hong Kong Attainment Test*

(iv) Action List for Transfer of Information of Students with Special Educational Needs*

89

91

92

93

9 Teaching Resources provided by the Education Bureau 95

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11

Individual Education Plan (i) to (iv)#

Equal Opportunities in Education - the Mediation Mechanism

114

130

12 Sample of Annual Report on Policy, Resource and Measures by Adopting Whole School Approach in Supporting Students with SEN or Academically Low Achievers to be set up in School *

132

13 Year-end Evaluation Form for Individual Student (Primary School)*

134

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15

16

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Year-end Evaluation Form for Individual Student (Secondary School)#

Examplars of Support Measures and Strategies (1) to (3)*

Year-end Evaluation Form at School Level on Whole School Approach to catering for students with SEN#

Non-government Organisations providing Vocational Training / Programmes for People with Disabilities *

137

140

161

164

Remark : The content of thi s Guide ( the 2 n d . Edit ion) i s enriched and revised -

* Newly inserted content

# Revised content

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Introduction

Since the 1970s, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been providing support for ordinary schools in catering for students with special educational needs (SEN). From September 1997, we promoted the Whole School Approach to Integrated Education as advocated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to enhance the quality of local integrated education.

With the enactment of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) in 1996, the Equal Opportunities Commission issued the Code of Practice on Education under the DDO in 2001 to facilitate public understanding of the rationale behind the DDO and the rights and responsibilities of the parties concerned. Guidelines on the procedures and the system for promoting equal opportunities are provided. The Code also provides practical guidance on how to comply with the DDO.

The Education Bureau (EDB) prepares this Operation Guide to provide guiding principles and practicable strategies for schools. It aims to empower all ordinary schools to provide high quality educational services through catering for student diversity and SEN. The objective is to develop the potentials of every student, to promote mutual respect of individual differences among teachers and students and to cultivate an inclusive school culture.

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Chapter 1 An Overview on the Development of Integrated Education

After the enactment of the DDO in Hong Kong, EDB

issued Circular No. 14/2001 and Circular No. 33/2003 respectively in 2001 and 2003 to all schools to inform them about the publication of the Code of Practice on Education as well as the principles governing equal opportunities. The two circulars are available at the following websites :

http://www.edb.gov.hk/UtilityManager/circular/upload/ADMC/AD01014E.PDF and http://www.edb.gov.hk/UtilityManager/circular/upload/embc/EMBC03033E.pdf.

Under the prevailing government policy, children with severe or multiple disabilities attend special schools where they are provided with intensive support services. Other students with SEN are placed in ordinary schools where they can learn with their peers for the full benefits of education. Parents can apply for admission to primary schools for their children through the current school places allocation system. Schools are advised to implement the Whole School approach to integrated education to cater for student differences effectively and enhance the effectiveness of education as a whole.

Accepting Differences & Removing Barriers to Learning One of the aims of integrated education is to help all

students/teachers/parents recognize, accept and respect individual differences, and even celebrate differences. This serves as a driving force for personal growth and the development of an inclusive society. Given the diverse student needs in all regular classrooms, teachers can no longer adopt one single teaching approach for all students, nor can they expect all students to attain the same academic standard. All schools should adopt various accommodation measures to facilitate the development of students’ multiple intelligence.

Barriers to learning include people’s attitude (e.g. teachers’/students’ discrimination against people with disabilities, giving-up attitude or low expectation); facilities (e.g. lack of school access facilities and assistive technology for participation in learning and other activities); and

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opportunities (e.g. insufficient opportunities for students to take part in various school activities). In reality, students with SEN do have their own strengths and schools should help them develop their strengths. Teachers should make use of student diversity with a view to creating an interactive environment for collaborative learning to foster students’ understanding of one another ’s strengths, mutual respect and appreciation.

Therefore, the targets and beneficiary of integrated education are not only the students with SEN but all students, all school staff, parents, the school-sponsoring bodies and even the whole society.

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Tier-2

Additional support for students with persistent learning difficulties

Tier-3 Intensive

individualized support for students with severe

learning difficulties

Tier-1 Early identification and quality teaching in the regular

classroom for students with transient or mild learning difficulties

Chapter 2 Individual Differences, Special Educational Needs and the 3-Tier Support Model

2.1 Individual Differences & Special Educational

Needs All students have individual needs. Disability is only one

of the many sources of individual needs in contemporary classrooms. Through adopting the Whole School Approach, schools can cater for students with diverse needs in a more comprehensive manner.

2.2 The 3-Tier Support Model Among students with the same type of disability, their need

and the degree of support required may differ from one person to another. Schools should adopt a 3-tier support model in order to provide appropriate support to each student.

3-Tier Support Model

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2.3 Special Educational Needs and Intervention Strategies

(1) Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

SpLD in reading and writing, also known as dyslexia, is the most common type of SpLD. Students with SpLD, despite having normal intelligence and having received formal instructions, are unable to read, spell and dictate words accurately and fluently. Generally speaking, they display the following characteristics:

do better in oral than written expression; cannot read with fluency; mispronounce words or forget

the pronunciation; cannot spell words even after making considerable effort; omit or add unnecessary strokes to the Chinese characters

when copying; reverse letters or characters or write the “mirror images” of

letters or characters; and tire easily and need to make greater effort in completing

reading and writing assignments.

In supporting the students with SpLD, teachers are advised to adopt diversified teaching strategies such as:

break tasks into small steps to suit the pace and learning capabilities of the student;

adopt the multi-sensory approach such as highlighting

certain parts or strokes of words with coloured pens; structure the tasks and grade the curriculum materials in

accordance with the level of difficulty; teach students various learning skills such as identifying

salient points, getting to know key words, etc; help students develop the habit of reading, such as by

making arrangements for daily/weekly paired-reading

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sessions; strengthen their writing ability by introducing the “6 Ws”

method, using mind-mapping, spidergrams, flowcharts and tree diagrams, etc;

adjust the level of difficulty of the learning materials such

as by replacing difficult words with simpler ones; help students develop the habit of self-review in order to reduce writing errors;

provide assessment accommodation; reduce the amount of

materials for dictation, inform students of the marking scheme in advance, allow extra time for tests and examinations etc;

administer homework accommodation, e.g. assign

appropriate homework in accordance with the student’s ability, reduce assignments which require a lot of copying, enlarge the writing grid; and

encourage the use of computers and information

technology to facilitate students’ learning such as using word processing to replace pen and paper.

(2) Intellectual Disability

In comparison with their peers, the global development of students with intellectual disability is delayed and they have marked disabilities in cognitive functioning in the following areas:

weak in abstract and logical thinking; weak in memory; have short attention span and are easily distracted; have weak language expression, limited vocabulary, or

articulation defects; weak in gross motor and eye-hand co-ordination which

affect their daily self-care; and

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have weak social skills.

In supporting students with intellectual disability, teachers should focus more on essential life skills, and employ diversified teaching strategies to enhance the effectiveness of instruction. For example, they may use real objects and gestures as aids to supplement verbal instructions, or provide visual cues to facilitate students’ understanding of abstract concepts, etc., so that these students can participate in learning in the regular classroom.

(3) Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Usually, children display autistic symptoms before the age of three. These children show marked disabilities in social development, language communication and behaviour adjustment.

Social development：These children live in their own world. They are weak in interpreting verbal messages and facial expressions and do not consider things from other people’s perspective. Therefore, it is necessary to support them in cultivating friendship with their peers and grasping simple rules of social interaction;

Language communication : They are slow in verbal development and their speech is monotonous, repetitive or echolalic. Thus the teacher should give them simple, explicit and direct instructions and explain every step of the learning task so that the students can follow more easily; and

Behaviour adjustment : These students often insist on following certain routines, e.g. taking buses of the same route or taking the same seat, or refusing to change certain daily habits. Teachers can assist them to accept changes, e.g. by informing them of changes well in advance to prevent undue anxiety. Rehearsals for the change can also be arranged as required.

Since students with autism usually need clear instructions for accomplishing tasks, the teachers can help by providing them with an overview of the procedures. With regard to their difficulty in processing multiple instructions simultaneously, it is better to give them one instruction at a time. Pictures and symbols can also be used to enhance their

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understanding of the instructions.

(4) Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Students usually have the following three characteristics :

Inattention : They are often distracted by irrelevant signs and sounds. They also fail to work in a systematic way or pay attention to details. Moreover, they often make careless mistakes;

Hyperactivity : They cannot remain seated in class and usually keep fidgeting or fiddling with objects around them; and

Impulsivity : They lack patience, are impulsive and often act without considering the consequences. They blurt out answers before the questions are completed. Moreover, they often interrupt others, cannot remain in line with the queue, and are unable to follow through the instructions.

In teaching these students, the teachers :

may let them sit in the front row or an appropriate place where teacher could easily attend to them, and remind them to keep their desks tidy so as to minimize the source of distraction;

should give clear and specific instructions and give one

instruction at a time; repeat the instructions if necessary so as to ensure students’ reception and understanding;

may address the students by their names before speaking to

them in order to establish eye-contact and draw their attention; may ask the students to repeat the salient points of the instructions in order to ensure that they understand the instructions;

may make prior behavioural goal and agreement with the

students on the visual cues in class to avoid interruption to the teaching. For example, the teacher may show a yellow card for warning, or award the students with a star-shaped sticker for good behaviour;

may ask the students to run an errand so as to allow a

break from remaining in seat for too long. These can

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take the form of asking the students to distribute worksheets, exercise books, etc., or invite the students to help the teacher when using the computer or showing slides during the lesson;

establish clear-cut rules and award schemes for guiding

the behaviour of the students; make good use of peer influence : arrange the students to

sit next to a conscientious classmate who may remind the students to be attentive when necessary;

help the students develop self-control by recording the

number of times the students have acted impulsively, evaluating their own ways of solving problems;

may teach emotion management skills, e.g. teaching the

students to take a deep breath when getting angry, count numbers in descending order, or stop and think, etc.;

avoid direct conflict with the students when they lose their

temper; make prior agreement with the students that whenever they are about to throw tantrums, they can go to the corner or leave the classroom in order to calm down; the teacher should reason with the students only after they have calmed down; and

keep in close contact with the students’ parents for

consistent behaviour management at home and school; and monitor the students’ reaction to medication so that the parents can provide feedback to the doctor.

(5) Physical Disability

Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy and developmental co-ordination disorder are common types of physical disabilities which affect students’ motor co-ordination, speech, writing and daily activities.

Schools may help these students by: Providing lifts, toilets and wheelchair access;

Providing more space for them to move around, to park their

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wheelchairs and place their crutches; and

Helping them carry heavy objects or providing them with appropriate assistive tools.

(6) Visual Impairment (VI)

Visual impairment (VI) refers to the visual acuity, of 6/18 or below, taking measurement from the eye with better vision upon wearing spectacles or after refractive correction surgery. Visual impairment can be classified as mild low vision, moderate low vision, severe low vision or total loss of vision.

Schools should take into account that: Students with VI have weak perception of lighting,

distance, volume and colour. Spacing and lighting condition of a classroom should be adjusted according to the degree of VI of the students. Generally speaking, classrooms with light-coloured walls and floor, matched with darker coloured doors, chairs, desks and handrails, will be preferred;

Use doors with various colour tones to differentiate rooms

with different functions, such as classrooms, laboratories and washrooms;

Tactile guide paths, Braille signs and hazard warning tiles

should be installed wherever appropriate to establish a barrier-free school environment;

Allow students to use assistive tools for students with VI, including Braille book, audio tapes, magnifying glass, word magnifier and computer, etc. in accordance with the students’ residual visual functions;

Provide a seat that facilitates entrance or exit of the

classroom and use of assistive tools for students with VI; Provide adjustable inclining desktops and larger desktops;

and

Students with VI should be notified of any changes in the setting of the classrooms beforehand, or inform them as

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soon as possible. (7) Hearing Impairment (HI)

There are three major types of hearing impairment, namely conductive, sensorineural, and mixed. The level of impairment can be further classified into mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe and profound.

Characteristics of students with HI are as follows : When conversing in a noisy environment or listening to

someone who speaks softly, they cannot fully comprehend the contents of the conversations;

They may not hear the speakers clearly during classroom discussions if the speakers are not directly within sight;

They may find it difficult to listen to audio-tapes or watch television programmes which have no subtitles; and

Without the hearing aids, they may only hear conversations

within close distance and they need to rely on lip-reading. For daily contacts with these students : Teachers should try to stand and speak in front of the

students so as to provide visual cues like lip-reading, facial expression and gestures. It is not necessary for teachers to raise their voice, slow down the speech or exaggerate the lip movements;

Since the students may not have the confidence to raise

questions for fear of inaccurate pronunciation or weak expressive skills, the teacher should help them improve their self image, enhance their social skills, grasp effective learning techniques, develop the habit of reading and writing; and

Teachers may provide the students with learning materials

before the lesson, so that they may have a better grasp of the contents beforehand.

(8) Speech and Language Impairments (SLI)

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There are four common types of speech and language difficulties :

Defective articulation - substitution or omission of sounds or other error patterns that cause unclear speech. For example, “seem” is mispronounced as “deem”, and “tall” as “call”, etc;

Language problems - inability to understand and/or use

language at an age-appropriate level; Fluency problems (commonly known as stuttering) -

difficulty in initiation of speech or interruption of the speech flow; and

Voice problems - including hoarseness, loss of voice,

inappropriate pitch or volume control, hypernasality or hyponasality during speech acts.

In helping students with SLI, teachers should note that :

Other students should not be allowed to laugh at these students’ speech and language problems;

When students misarticulate certain sounds, teachers may

demonstrate the correct pronunciation and encourage them to imitate;

For students with difficulties in organizing and expressing

their thoughts, teachers may use story grammar (e.g. time, characters, place, initiating events, internal response, attempt, consequence and reaction) or guiding questions to enhance their expressive skills; and

For students with fluency problems, teachers should not

hurry the students.

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Chapter 3 The Whole School Approach

Whole School Approach entails three inter-connected dimensions of a school, namely school policies, culture and practices.

Policies

Characteristics of the Whole School Approach

Whole School Consensus : All staff of the school acknowledge the responsibility of establishing an inclusive environment to cater for the needs of all students;

Curriculum Accommodation:The school curriculum can be adapted and/or expanded to cater for different needs;

Differentiated Teaching : Diversified teaching techniques and assistive equipment to cater for students’ diverse learning needs;

Peer Support : Learning groups, peer tutoring and circles of friends are strategically organized;

Teacher Collaboration : Teachers work together and support each other;

Classroom Support : Specialists collaborate with teachers in improving the learning environment, e.g. arrange team teaching for the benefit of all students; and

School

(1) Management & Organization (2) Learning & Teaching (3) Student Support & School Ethos (4) Student Performance

Domains of School Development

PracticeCulture

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Assessment Accommodation : Assessment methods are adapted to facilitate students’ demonstration of their learning outcome.

3.1 Inclusive Policy “An educationally inclusive school is one in which the

learning and teaching achievement, attitudes and well being of every young person matters. Effective schools are educationally inclusive schools. This shows, not only in their performance, but also in their ethos and their willingness to offer new opportunities to pupils who may have experienced previous difficulties.” (OFSTED, 2000)

3.2 Inclusive Culture Establishing inclusive values in the school is the key to

success, for examples :

Everyone in the school is valued and students’ understanding of and respect for individual differences is promoted through various programmes;

Teaching staff appreciate students’ capabilities from different perspectives and do not expect all students to follow one single learning style or to attain the same academic level; and

Teaching staff believe that every student has unique potentials and the school should provide room for the students to fully develop their multiple intelligence.

Successful schools have demonstrated that the key is to foster school staff ’s care and love for students. Some schools seek to nurture students’ respect for individual differences through moral and civic education programmes. They organize activities through the Parent-Teacher Associations to promote a caring school ethos. For real life examples of integrated education, please refer to Appendix 1.

3.3 Inclusive Practices Flexible deployment of various resources and

co-ordination of the 3-tier Support Model serve to facilitate early identification and early support for students according to

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their SEN (details in Chapters 4 -10).

Schools may refer to “Catering for Student Differences ~ Indicators for Inclusion”* for developing inclusive practices. It can be downloaded at: ht tp: / /www.edb.gov.hk/Fi leManager/EN/Content_7385/indicators-082008_e.pdf

This is a tool for school development, aiming at enhancing the school’s capacity in catering for learner differences and providing quality education for all. It

can assist schools in setting targets and defining observable success criteria for school self-evaluation and school development;

facilitates continuous improvement in developing inclusive policies, culture and practices in schools; and

is concerned with the learning and participation of all students, not only those with SEN.

Teachers may refer to the contents of these Indicators for in-depth self-evaluation on the four school development domains for continuing school improvement. The purpose is to facilitate full participation of students in school activities and to enhance learning effectiveness.

With the illustrations below, it is hoped that schools will have a better understanding of the relationship between the Indicators for Inclusion and the Performance Indicators for Hong Kong Schools. As a result, schools could cover different levels and areas of concern more comprehensively in the process of preparing school development plans and conducting school self-evaluation. ___

Note* “Catering for Student Differences ~ Indicators for Inclusion” was prepared by EDB with reference to UK’s experience in developing inclusive culture, policies, and practices at schools, and edited according to the four domains of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Framework.

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Catering for Student Differences ~ Indicators for Inclusion Examples

Area Performance Indicator Examples of Inclusive culture, policies and practices Domain I Management and Organization

1. School Management

1.1 Planning ‧ Setting up a Student Support Team (SST) ‧ Adopting the Whole School Approach to catering for student

diversity

1.2 Implementation

‧ Keeping a register of students with SEN ‧ Assigning duties to members of the SST ‧ Co-ordinating all support measures by the SST ‧ Using flexibly various grants, e.g. Capacity Enhancement Grant,

Student Guidance Grant and Learning Support Grant etc. ‧ Setting up a resource library and a catalogue of resources

1.3 Evaluation ‧ Evaluating the school’s effectiveness in catering for student diversity

2. Professional Leadership

2.1 Leadership and Monitoring ‧ Including “Catering for student diversity” as one of the school development goals

2.2 Collaboration and Support ‧ Scheduling regular SST meetings ‧ Collaborating with relevant professionals

2.3 Professional Development ‧ Arranging teachers to attend special education courses systematically ‧ Arranging peer lesson observation and joint lesson preparation by

teachers Domain II Learning and Teaching

3. Curriculum and Assessment

3.1 Curriculum Organisation ‧ Catering for diversity by organizing group teaching and designing Individual Education Plans, etc 3.2 Curriculum Implementation ‧ Arranging curriculum accommodation, joint lesson preparation etc.

3.3 Performance Assessment ‧ Providing assessment accommodation

3.4 Curriculum Evaluation ‧ Modifying teaching according to the diverse needs of students ‧ Evaluating Individual Education Plans

4. Student Learning and Teaching

4.1 Learning Process ‧ Training student’s study skills and habit

4.2 Learning Performance ‧ Keeping Student Progress Records ‧ Keeping Individual Education Plan Records ‧ Developing student’s multiple intelligence

4.3 Teaching Organisation ‧ Arranging collaborative learning and peer tutoring

4.4 Teaching Process ‧ Carrying out collaborative teaching; adopting a multi-sensory approach to teaching etc.

4.5 Feedback and Follow-up

‧ Encouraging independent learning through evaluating the learning process with students

‧ Encouraging parents to train students at home ‧ Encouraging student’s positive behaviour and enhancing learning

motivation through award schemes Domain III Student Support and School Ethos

5. Student Support

5.1 Support for Student Development

‧ Cultivating a caring school culture; organizing peer support programmes, etc.

‧ Facilitating the participation of students with different abilities for development of their potentials

‧ Organizing activities to enhance students’ awareness and respect for individual differences

‧ Identifying the SEN of new students as early as possible

5.2 School Climate ‧ Training up student ambassadors and peer tutors ‧ Organizing pastoral care activities or training young leaders in

promoting inclusive school ethos

6. Partnership 6.1 Home-School Cooperation ‧ Inviting parents to IEP meetings; organizing parent-volunteers activities 6.2 Links with External

Organisations ‧ Seeking professional support and community resources if necessary

Domain IV Student Performance

7. Attitude and Behaviour

7.1 Affective Development and Attitude

‧ Students have positive self-image

7.2 Social Development ‧ Learning social skills through participation in ‘circle of friends’8. Participation and

Achievement 8.1 Academic Performance ‧ Enhancing students’ learning motivation 8.2 Non-academic Performance‧ Enhancing students’ self-esteem and confidence

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3.4 School Development and Accountability Under the School Development & Accountability

Framework, the school management is responsible for leading the staff in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the support measures for students with SEN. For example :

Stakeholders of the school

Planning Implementation & Monitoring

Evaluation

School Management Committee

formulating policies to cater for SEN

incorporating the SEN policies and measures into the school’s Triennial School Development Plan and Annual School Development Plan

plans for continuing professional development of teachers

School self-evaluation

Overall planning for school improvement based on the evaluation results

Head of school & Student Support Team

Enhancing the collaboration of the Student Support Team members, for example:

regular meetings chaired by the school head or deputy school head

use of screening tools for early identification of students’ learning difficulties and needs for support

compiling a student support register

administering curriculum and assessment accommodation

diversified teaching

reviewing the effectiveness of the various support measures

modifying the support measures according to the evaluation results

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approaches

peer tutoring

defining success criteria

arranging for teacher ’s continuing professional development

Teachers, other staff (e.g. student counsellors) and parents

defining individualized success criteria

administering curriculum accommodation

diversified teaching approaches

training study habit and skills

measuring students’ progress against the success criteria

making adjustment if necessary

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Chapter 4 Early Identification & Intervention

4.1 Assessment Services provided by the Department of Health & Hospital Authority Children from birth to the age of five suspected to have

health, developmental and behavioural problems are assessed by the Maternal and Child Health Centres of the Department of Health (DH). Those who require further assessment are served by the Child Assessment Services (CAS) provided by either the DH or the Hospital Authority (HA).

Pre-school children who have been assessed by the Child Assessment Centres (CAC) may receive support services either through the special child care centres, early education & training centres or the integrated programme in child care centres. When these children are ready to enter primary one, upon obtaining consent from their parents, their assessment results are transferred by the pre-school training services to the school concerned so that the teachers may have timely understanding of the students’ needs and offer appropriate support. Where necessary, teachers can refer the students to relevant specialists through the Student Support Team (SST) for follow-up.

For students attending government and aided primary and secondary schools who are suspected to have learning-related difficulties such as reading and writing problems, intellectual impairment, speech and language impairment, and hearing impairment, etc., assessments are provided by educational psychology, speech therapy and audiological services of Education Bureau (EDB) or school-based educational psychology service and speech therapy services funded by EDB. Children with multiple developmental problems such as attention deficits, physical disability, visual impairment and autism spectrum disorders can approach the CAS under the Department of Health or the Hospital Authority for service.

For information on the assessment services for school-aged children assessment, reference can be made to the following leaflet “Government Assessment Services for School-aged Children”: http:/ /www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/TC/Content_2555/dev%20disorder%20leaflet-chi.pdf

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4.2 Early Identification and Intervention for Primary One Students with Learning Difficulties

All public primary schools conduct the “Early

Identification and Intervention of Learning Difficulties Programme for Primary One Pupils” on an annual basis. At the commencement of the new school year, teachers observe primary one pupils’ learning performance, social adjustment and self-care ability through classroom interaction, monitoring of homework and individual interviews etc. During the period from December to January, teachers are to complete the Observation Checklist for Teachers (OCT) in order to identify pupils at risk of learning difficulties. Schools are advised to introduce the programme to parents of primary one pupils and distribute the leaflet to parents during the orientation meetings held in August or September. School should encourage parents to observe their children’s learning progress and behaviour adjustment and bring up their concerns to the teachers should their children encounter any difficulties.

Should the teacher notice difficulties in learning, communication or social adjustment in a pupil, they should first discuss with the parents, then make use of the OCT to better understand the nature of these difficulties, and provide early support. Where necessary, teachers can discuss with the designated members of the staff to determine if the pupil should be referred for specialist assessment.

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The Early Identification & Intervention of Learning Difficulties Programme for Primary One Pupils

Annual Workflow

For details and relevant information of this Programme, please refer to the website of Hong Kong Education City at http://www.hkedcity.net/specialed/eii

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Teachers can refer to the table below for details of the assessing agents/specialists for the different types of special educational needs.

Special Educational Needs Assessment Organization / Specialist

Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia)

Educational Psychologist (EP) or Clinical Psychologist (CP)

Intellectual Disability EP, CP or Child Assessment Service of the Department of Health/Hospital Authority

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Psychiatrist or Child Assessment Service of the Department of Health/Hospital Authority

Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorders

Psychiatrist or Child Assessment Service of the Department of Health/Hospital Authority

Physical Disability Medical Doctors

Visual Impairment Ophthalmologist, or the General Eye and Low Vision Centre of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind

Hearing Impairment Audiologists

Speech and Language Impairment Speech Therapist

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4.3 Screening Tools for Learning Difficulties Primary school

EDB has developed the norm-referenced Hong Kong Specific Learning Difficulties Behaviour Checklist (For Primary School Pupils) to facilitate early identification of students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) by teachers.

In case the primary pupils demonstrates speech and language impairment, teachers may use the Observation Checklist for Teachers (for primary school pupils with speech and language problems) to identify the speech and language problems of pupils.

Where necessary, the student support team can refer pupils for further specialist assessments through the established procedures.

Secondary school

For S.1 students newly admitted to secondary school, teachers can make use of various opportunities to observe the strengths and weaknesses of the students in learning. Teachers can also make reference to students’ previous academic record and other assessment results including the specialist assessment reports transferred from the primary schools (parental consent required), and the results in the Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Test, to find out if the students may have any learning difficulties.

For students suspected to have SpLD, teachers may make use of norm-referenced screening tools, such as the Hong Kong Test of Chinese Reading and Writing Abilities Assessment for Secondary School Students (for use by teachers) (2008) and the Hong Kong Behaviour Checklist of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing for Junior Secondary School Students (BCL-JS) (2009) for initial screening of specific learning difficulties. For students suspected to have speech & language impairment, teachers may use the “Teachers’ Observation Checklist for Identifying Speech and Language Impaired Students in Secondary Schools” (Chinese version only) for identifying students’ speech and language problems.

In respect of speech therapy services, EDB has devised the

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Observation Checklist for Teachers (for Primary Schools) http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/edu-system/special/support/wsa/primary/speech_OCT_ps.pdf (Chinese version only) and the Observation Checklist for Teachers (Secondary School) http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/edu-system/special/support/wsa/secondary/speech_OCT_ss.pdf (Chinese version only) for identifying speech and language difficulties, so that early support may be provided for them. Teachers may initially understand, analyse and record students’ difficulties through daily observation and the checklists. If symptoms of speech and language impairments are identified by the teachers, the school should refer these students to the school-based speech therapist or to the Speech and Hearing Services Section of EDB for assessment and follow-up. For details, please refer to the “Flowchart for Referral of Students with Speech and Language Impairments (SLI)” below. Schools should keep the assessment reports of students properly. Subject teachers are welcome to read the reports to learn about the assessment results and the recommendations. For enquiries concerning the assessment reports, teachers may contact the speech therapist concerned directly.

Teachers may use these tools for preliminary

identification of the learning difficulties, and speech and language difficulties of students, in order to provide early support for students with mild or transient learning difficulties in the regular classroom or provide guidance and accommodation to students with speech and language difficulties (tier-1 support). In case the student’s learning difficulties persist, teachers may discuss the case with the SST for possible assessment by specialists and consider if enhanced support (tier-2 support) is required. If necessary, schools may refer the case to the aforesaid assessment organizations / specialists for professional assessments.

http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/edu-system/special/support/wsa/primary/speech_OCT_ps.pdfhttp://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/edu-system/special/support/wsa/secondary/speech_OCT_ss.pdf

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Referral of Students with Speech and Language Impairments (SLI)

4.4 Follow-up Support Professional Assessment

(1) When teachers have identified students with learning difficulties who need specialist assessment or consultation service, the schools may contact the school-based educational psychologists or refer the students to EDB. If parents suspect that the children may have learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties, teachers and pastoral care staff should follow up and, if necessary, refer them to educational psychologists for further assessment and follow-up service;

(2) Consent from parents must be obtained prior to making referrals. Referral letters must be signed by heads of schools and include the personal particulars of the students concerned, the family and developmental

Complete an Observation Checklist for Teachers (OCTs) for each student suspected of having SLI

Teachers observe students’ speech and language skills

School with Enhanced Speech Therapy Grant

provision?

Teachers pass the OCTs and parent consent forms to school-based

speech therapists for assessment and follow-up.

No

Schools send the OCTs and parent consent forms to the Speech and Hearing Services Section of EDB. EDB would

provide assessment services to the students and arrange appropriate

follow-up services for students diagnosed with SLI.

Yes

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background, development of the case, behaviour analysis, support given and its effectiveness, reasons for referral and services required;

(3) If it is necessary to refer students to the Educational Psychology Services Section of EDB, the referral form at Appendix 2 should be used by the student guidance personnel serving primary schools; secondary school social workers may either use the referral forms of respective social service organizations, or adapt the form at Appendix 2 for use;

(4) Before making a referral, class teachers and the teachers concerned should gain an understanding of the students’ adjustment problems and collect relevant information such as students’ scores in dictation and tests, behaviour in class and extra-curricular activities. Then pastoral care/class teachers may interview the parents to understand their concerns while informing them of their children’s academic and social adjustment. They may also offer advice and resources to address the parents’ concerns;

(5) Generally speaking, the specialists assess students’ SEN through various means such as interviewing parents, teachers and students, conducting class observation, using questionnaires and administering individual student assessment;

(6) As for students assessed to have SpLD, the educational psychologists (EPs) provide parents with a Summary of Assessment Findings to help parents understand the students’ difficulties and educational needs. EPs also prepare assessment reports for the schools and the contents usually include assessment results and recommended follow-up actions. Parents /guardians may apply for a copy of this report under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance;

(7) Some students may have already received assessment provided by CAC or the Student Health Service. As a routine, these organizations forward the assessment summary to the respective schools for follow-up actions; and

(8) When supporting students referred by the CAC for

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follow-up, the school should seek to understand the case by approaching the parents and the teachers to obtain information about the students’ learning and behaviour, so that support services can be provided in accordance with the students’ needs. When further professional assessment or support is required, teachers may make referrals by following the procedures mentioned above.

Follow-up actions further to professional assessment

(1) The schools should first hold a Student Support Team meeting to co-ordinate the deployment of various resources and to formulate support plans. Teachers may refer to the sample in Appendix 3;

(2) Through case conferences, educational psychologists (EPs) explain to teachers and parents the students’ SEN and help them draw up support plans, EPs may refer the students to other organizations for services if necessary;

(3) School personnel need to keep concise records of the consensus reached at the meetings. Copies of the records should be distributed to the participants, preferably including parents. These records should also be circulated among teachers concerned. Schools may refer to the suggested record format in Appendix 4;

(4) At the beginning of a new school year, new teachers of the student concerned are advised to go through the student’s assessment reports for better understanding of his/her SEN. Through case conferences, previous and new teachers of the student together set targets and formulate support strategies. On-going review on the progress should be conducted by the Student Support Team. Both internal and external resources should be co-ordinated to enhance the effectiveness of student support;

(5) If students with severe or multiple disabilities cannot adapt to ordinary school life even intensive support is provided, they can be referred to the Special Education Support 2 Section of EDB for special school placement subject to the recommendation of specialists and parents’ consent (refer to Parents Guide on Whole School Approach to Integrated Education for parents’

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choice on schools for their children).

(6) Schools should transfer relevant information of the students with SEN (e.g. medical reports, assessment reports, learning records, support strategies) to the new schools concerned after obtaining parental consent. Schools are also advised to complete the recommendation form on special arrangements for Primary Six students in respect of the Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Tests, so that the secondary schools may make appropriate arrangements. For details, please refer to the EDB Circular Memorandum entitled “Transfer of Information of Students with SEN” ( http://www.edb.gov.hk ); and

(7) Teachers may refer to the “Understanding and Helping Students with Special Educational Needs ~ A Guide to Teaching” in providing support for students in learning, curriculum, assessment and social adjustment. ( http://www.edb.gov.hk )

[Path: Website of Education Bureau> Special Education > Special Education Resource Centre> Understanding and Help Students with Special Educational Needs ~ A Guide to Teaching]

For information on professional support provided by EDB and other organizations, please refer to Appendix 5.

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Chapter 5 Student Support Team

Schools are advised to set up a Student Support Team (SST) or designate an existing functional group to plan, implement and review student support services.

Schools need to understand how students’ learning and

adaptation are affected by their disabilities. Students may not be assumed that they have learning difficulties because of the impact of their disabilities. Schools provide support programmes and assistive facilities according to students’ abilities and needs, so that they can learn in the least restrictive environment. In the course of planning, implementing and reviewing the support measures, schools should communicate and collaborate with parents, so as to provide the most appropriate support for the students.

5.1 Constituents of SST The SST may consist of the following members:

Principal, vice principal or senior teacher as Co-ordinator; Class teachers and subject teachers of the students with SEN;

and Curriculum development leaders, guidance teachers, school

social workers; and if necessary, invite parents and EDB support officers/specialists to attend relevant meetings.

5.2 Main duties of the SST (1) To draw up support programmes and monitor the progress

of the students according to the following procedures :

Understanding the student’s strengths, weaknesses and learning needs ↓

Formulating short-term and long-term learning objectives ↓

Devising a practical support programme↓

Implementing the programme↓

Evaluating the effectiveness of the support Please refer to Chapters 2, 6 and 7 for various intervention strategies

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and support measures.

(2) To keep a Student Support Register on the basic student data, learning progress and support measures for facilitating regular review. Please refer to Appendix 6 for a sample of the Student Support Register;

(3) To provide necessary aids and equipment for students with

SEN as early as possible. For instance, schools should install the necessary equipment for students with physical disability, hearing impairment and visual impairment right at the beginning of the school year. At the same time, schools should consider the school environment, including the design of the school premises and accessibility of the classrooms and toilets for these students; and

(4) To keep assessment reports and relevant information of students systematically. Relevant school personnel, such as subject teachers, student guidance personnel or school social workers, are informed to access to this information when necessary. The SST are required to formulate appropriate guidelines and procedures for teachers and school personnel concerned to access to this information, so that they can understand the development of students and formulate relevant support measures for them.

(5) To inform the parents concerned of the school contact

persons for engaging in home-school communication and co-operation. Schools are required to inform parents of the support measures and their children’s progress in schools. Please refer to Chapter 8 for the details of home-school co-operation.

5.3 Handling of Student Data For supporting students with SEN, SST is required to

input student data into the Special Education Management Information System (SEMIS) of the Education Bureau (EDB). In tandem, to ensure that students with SEN will continue to receive suitable support upon their change of schools, schools have to transfer relevant information of these students to the recipient schools as early as possible to facilitate the schools to understand the students’ specific needs and plan appropriate

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support services for them. In this regard, schools should abide by the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance are required to obtain parents’ prior consent for processing a student’s SEN information as above. Please refer to Appendix 7 for handling Personal Data (Privacy).

With a view to streamlining the administrative procedure

for smooth and timely transfer of information, the parental consent form (Appendix 8(i)) has been revised for use of all primary and secondary schools. Such consent is valid throughout the student’s study in primary and secondary schools unless the parents withdraw such consent in writing. In this connection, a statement on the collection of personal information has been included in the parental consent form. The rights to request access and correction of the data as provided under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and/or withdraw the consent should be explained to the parents concerned. Upon signing of the revised parental consent form, the SST is required to register the parental consent status at SEMIS. In case of change in the consent status in future, the SST should update the relevant information at SEMIS promptly.

Subject to the parental consent obtained for transferring

SEN information, the SST should send hard copies of the relevant information of their students with SEN (e.g. medical reports, assessment reports, succinct learning records and teaching strategy suggestions, etc.), together with the duly signed parental consent form under the enhanced arrangement, to the recipient schools within one month as far as practicable. For those P6 students promoted to S1 in secondary schools, such information should be sent to the recipeint schools before mid-August. The sample letter (Appendix 8(ii)) is attached for reference.

Starting from 2013, for P6 students with SEN whose

parental consent has been obtained using the revised consent form, basic SEN information of the students, i.e. their SEN type and tier of support required, will be transmitted through

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SEMIS to the secondary schools where they are allocated through SSPA within seven working days after the SSPA allocation results are announced each year. This is to facilitate the recipient schools to plan support services for the students as appropriate. For those students who do not register with the schools they are allocated through SSPA, EDB will check their schooling status through the annual Enrolment Survey conducted in September every year and transmit their SEN information to the recipient schools through SEMIS in November.

Students admitted to S1 may be required to take the

Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Test (Pre-S1 HKAT) in the secondary schools where they are allocated. The proforma (Appendix 8(iii)) informing the secondary schools of the special arrangements made for the students with SEN to take the Pre-S1 HKAT should be completed and given to the parents concerned on or before the date of announcement of the SSPA results.

The SST should refer to the action list (Appendix 8(iv)) and the EDB Circular No. 9/2013 - Transfer of Information of Students with Special Educational Needs for the details of enhanced arrangement.

5.4 Deployment of Resources Schools should make good use of both internal and

community resources, including the teaching staff, parents, other professionals, volunteers, facilities and community services. The SST may flexibly deploy additional funding from EDB to cater for individual differences and SEN by recruiting teaching/guidance assistants or purchasing professional services.

To enhance the support for teachers, the SST should build up resources to facilitate teachers to understand the special educational needs of students and formulate appropriate teaching strategies in the classroom. Besides, schools may establish a resource bank on the intranet for teachers’ access.

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EDB has been collaborating with the post-secondary institutes to develop various resource packages for teachers and parents to support students with SEN. Please refer to Appendix 9 for details.

5.5 Teacher Professional Development To enhance the effectiveness of the SST, the team should

include teachers with SEN qualifications. Schools should encourage the SST members and other teachers to receive specific training geared towards the particular SEN of students in the school, resulting in the enhancement of professional capacity of the team.

EDB has put in place a teacher professional development framework on integrated education in the 2007/2008 school year. It is expected that in 5 years, at least 10% of teachers in a school will have completed the 30-hour basic course; at least three teachers will have completed the 90-hour advanced course; at least one Chinese language teacher and one English language teacher will have completed the thematic course on specific learning difficulties; and for other types of SEN that individual schools may have to cater for, at least one teacher should complete the related thematic course. For details, please refer to the EDB Circular No. 13/2007 which can be downloaded from the EDB webpage at http://www.edb.gov.hk/UtilityManager/circular/upload/EDBC/EDBC07013E.pdf

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Chapter 6 Curriculum Accommodation and Differentiated Teaching Strategies

According to paragraph 14 of the Code of Practice on Education (related to the Disability Discrimination Ordinance), educational establishments should actively observe whether students have difficulty in following the curriculum because of their disabilities. If so, accommodation should be considered in the form of tailoring the curriculum to meet the individual needs of the student. This means that the contents of and the teaching methods used in some of the subjects of the particular student may need to be adjusted.

Most of the students with SEN are capable of following the mainstream school curriculum. Teachers are advised to provide curriculum accommodation in accordance with the individual needs of the students in order to remove barriers to learning.

For students with severe learning difficulties, Individual Education Plans should be provided to develop students’ multiple intelligence, so that students may make learning progress, have a sense of achievement and develop their potentials in academic and non-academic areas.

Schools are advised to provide students with appropriate support through a 3-tier support model.

6.1 Tier-1 : Quality Teaching

Schools may refer to the “Catering for Student Diversity ~ Measures and Actions” under section 4.3 of Booklet 4 on “Basic Education Curriculum Guide - Building on Strengths” (2002) for quality teaching. The salient points are as follows:

(1) Catering for Student Differences does not mean narrowing the differences among students. Rather, it is to find out the factors related to their poor performance and to help them learn better;

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(2) Enhancement of a student’s learning motivation starts with the development of the student’s positive self-image. The most effective way of boosting a student’s self-esteem is to encourage him/her to develop their potentials and recognize their strengths and capabilities in different areas like sports and practical skills;

(3) Teachers may employ a wide range of resources (such as magazines, characters, computers) in teaching rather than solely focusing on teaching with textbooks. Teachers can also help the student acquire wide learning experience so as to develop the student’s multiple intelligence and potentials (particularly of those academic low achievers);

(4) Schools may apply different modes of assessment to identify students’ strengths, and devise suitable curriculum and teaching strategies for students based on the assessment results. If there are wide differences among students, the school should not apply standard assessment exercises to all. This is because frequent failures and lack of due recognition of personal efforts will adversely affect the students’ morale; and

(5) Effective learning and teaching strategies may include modifying the teaching approaches from the learners’ perspective, cross-grade grouping, adjustment of the pace of learning, teaching in accordance with students’ capabilities, and differentiated homework arrangements. (For details, please refer to "Meaningful Homework - Consolidating Learning, Deepening Understanding and Constructing Knowledge” in Booklet 8 of “Basic Education Curriculum Guide Building on Strengths” (2002) and making use of information technologies as tools for learning). (Refer to : http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeid=2400&langno=1 )

6.2 Tier-2 : Additional Support

Teachers may consider adopting the following strategies:

(1) Small Group Learning Some schools may group together students with similar learning needs and those sharing at least one common learning target. The common learning targets and strategies may be recorded in the education plans of these small groups;

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(2) Collaborative Teaching Collaborative teaching involves a teaching team formed by two or more teachers who prepare the lessons as well as teach the students together. This approach enables teachers to provide students with prompt support tailored to their needs. Common models consist of One-Teaching-One-Assisting, Co-teaching and Station- Teaching. Schools may select a few subjects for co-teaching and co-teaching sessions may constitute part or all lessons of these subjects;

(3) Co-operative Learning Co-operative learning is to achieve group success through mutual support in each group. Competent students may act as “peer tutors”, so that they may develop leadership skills and sharpen their sensitivity to others’ needs. On the other hand, less able students may also be assigned the responsibilities within their ability level, so that they can play an active role in the group and make due contributions;

(4) Whole Language Approach Things in our daily life such as students’ work, newspapers, magazines, advertisement and slogans can be adapted as learning materials to make learning more relevant to daily life. This strategy is particularly good for teaching writing skills. Teachers may encourage students to choose their favourite topics and express their creativity as far as possible. If students have difficulties in verbal expression, they may express through alternative means such as drawings, comics and homophones. This helps to avoid students’ frustration due to failure;

(5) Differentiated Teaching Teacher should consider students’ learning abilities, interests and learning characteristics to provide them with systemic accommodations on teaching content, learning process and outcomes. The common 12 kinds of differentiation are listed as below : Content : Students work on various aspects of the same

subject matter;

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Interest : Design of classroom activities reflects students’ own interests/experiences;

Pace : Students work through materials at varying speeds; work is presented at varying rates;

Sequence: Teaching content and classroom activities are broken down into a series of progressive learning tasks. When students come across difficulties at a task, the teacher may break down the task into smaller steps for them and make the students learn effectively;

Level : Students work on similar concepts at different levels to reflect their own previous achievements,

Access : Material is presented to students through varying modes, such as visual, aural, tactile, and various medium, etc.. For example, to enhance students’ memory on the constituents of word through tactile means by writing words on sand. For the enhancement of students’ comprehensive power on knowledge and skills, cognitive development and memory, teacher can use different materials, figures, IT, symbols, languages, etc.. These materials can also arouse students’ interest and attention.

Response: Students respond to similar activities in varying ways. Those responses may be the planned outcomes conducted by teachers or students’ spontaneous ones;

Structure : Work is presented in small, developmental steps or in conceptually related chunks; subject specific or integrated;

Teaching: The ratio of teaching time to students’ responses Time is 1:1; or extra time is allowed for further

support;

Teaching : Didactic, investigative or discursive modes Style may be adopted in teaching;

Learning : Students’ learning may be through listening, Style exploring and problem-solving;

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Grouping : Students can be arranged into various grouping in learning, such as individual, pairs, groups, class, subject department or whole school.

(6) Peer Tutoring

Teachers may collaborate with guidance personnel in organizing learning groups or peer circles, so that students with different abilities may better understand each other, learn together, and help each other;

(7) Develop Study Skills and Self-learning Abilities

Teachers may teach students to organize the contents, objectives and priority of learning in a strategic way. These may include time management, note-taking, reading skills and examination skills etc. Moreover, teachers may also apply information technology to enhance students’ motivation in learning and guide the students to learn at their own pace. This will facilitate the development of study skills and self-learning abilities; and

(9) Teaching Resources EDB has been providing schools with various additional resources, such as teaching guidelines and packages, to support students with persistent learning difficulties. For details, please refer to Appendix 9. Teachers may refer to the exemplars contained in these guidelines and packages, and use them to provide learning support and diverse teaching activities for students, and remove barriers to their learning;

6.3 Tier-3 : Intensive Individualized Support

Teachers may also draw up an “Individual Education Plan” for students.

The target students are those assessed to be in need of intensive individualized support, after thorough discussion with parents and professionals in the SST;

The focus may include behavioural/social skills, or basic language and mathematics learning; therefore,

it can take the form of individual behaviour management plans to help students with autism spectrum

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disorders or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders；or

it can take the form of individual learning plans that focus on academic subjects. The contents should be derived from the syllabus of the regular class with differentiated activities and teaching materials which provide alternatives for the target students;

Plans (at least parts of them) should usually be conducted in regular class settings; and

Individual class teachers and subject teachers can always devise such differentiated teaching strategies and curriculum accommodation based on their expertise.

Long-term / short-term plans

Long-term / Annual Plan – establish long-term education goals, having regard to the expectations of parents, students and schools, and post-education options; and

Short-term Plan – including short-term learning objectives, relevant teaching strategies, success criteria, and dates of review.

How to devise the plan

Plans should contain only the major short-term targets, strategies and dates of achieving the targets;

Use simple and straight-forward words when devising the plans;

Teachers should consider adopting diverse teaching strategies by employing suitable equipment and teaching materials (e.g. information and telecommunication technology);

Plans should concentrate on up to three or four major individual targets so that the plans are tailored for individual needs of students and according to the priority of needs;

Establish success criteria;

In summary, plans should be:

“SMART” i.e. Specific

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Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound

Before the targets, add some positive phrases like “Classmate A will be able to achieve…at the end of the school term”;

In addition to individual or group tutoring, schools may also consider:

Using different types of or additional learning materials or equipment;

Introducing group or individual peer support to enhance mutual support among students with similar needs; and

Strengthening the participation of parents and experts in drawing up support plans and monitoring the effectiveness of the plans.

Conducting “Individual Education Plans” ( IEP )

Progress of IEP should be recorded in the daily/weekly teaching plans prepared by teachers for classes, irrespective of whether the plans involve both teachers and students or students alone;

Targets should be broken down into smaller steps so that students, parents and teachers can easily recognize the learning outcome;

All personnel within the school who have contacted with the students should be informed of the individual targets and implement the strategic plans; and

To ensure consistency in carrying out the plans, new personnel should be provided with relevant information of the plans when the students study in another class or school.

Please refer to samples of “IEP” at Appendix 10.

Monitoring and Reviewing IEPs

IEPs should be reviewed regularly;

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Effectiveness of IEPs should be assessed at least twice a year;

Parents’ opinions towards the learning progress of their children should be included in the review;

Schools should involve students in drawing up and reviewing the learning targets as far as possible;

Despite the regular reviews conducted on IEPs, teachers are still required to monitor the effectiveness of their teaching strategies adopted in class teaching and ensure that the students are able to understand the additional or different teaching contents provided by teachers during lessons;

If the student shows satisfactory progress after two reviews have been conducted, teachers may prolong the interval between reviews. If the students consistently show satisfactory progress, it may imply that they no longer need any intensive individualized support; and

Schools should keep proper records of IEPs and the related reviews.

Different Ways of Measuring Student Progress

For example

whether the gap between the classmates and his/her academic performance has been narrowed/widened;

though the student’s progress is still behind that of the majority in class, whether the student’s performance is close to that of other classmates at the same baseline when joining the same support group;

whether the student’s progress is similar to or better than his/her previous performance;

whether the student still needs tailor-made learning programme after receiving remedial support; and

whether there is any improvement in behaviour, social or inter-personal skills.

6.4 Illustration of 3-Tiered Support If a student receiving Tier-2 support for a certain period

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of time does not show any progress, schools may liaise with the educational psychologist concerned to formulate Tier-3 support and devise an IEP for the student.

When the student consistently shows satisfactory progress, the SST can restore the Tier-2 support after discussing with the parents and student concerned.

The following examples are for common cases:

Example 1: Support for students with AD/HD

Measures for Tier-1 Support

let the students sit in the front row and remind them to keep their desks tidy so as to minimize the source of distraction;

may touch the students’ shoulders or knock slightly on their desks to arouse their attention when they are unattentive during lessons;

should give clear and specific instructions; repeat the instructions if necessary so as to ensure the students’ understanding;

keep eye-contact to draw the students’ attention while talking to them; may ask them to repeat the salient points of the instructions in order to ensure that they understand the instructions;

find out the students’ strengths and let them participate in sports activities to exhaust their energy;

break down the homework into small independent tasks and let the students complete them step by step;

let the students extend their potentials through co-operative learning and project learning.

When the students do not show improvement in the above

Tier-1 support measures, the SST should discuss with the teachers concerned to escalate to Tier-2 support while Tier-1 support measures are still provided concurrently.

Measures for Tier-2 Support Draw up behaviour contracts with the students to let

them develop self-control skills and ways to express

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their feelings. The class monitors may assist in monitoring the students’ progress;

establish an award scheme for reinforcing the students’ positive behaviours;

let the students join the behaviour support groups to develop self-control skills, e.g. take a deep breath when getting angry, relax, count numbers in a descending order, stop and think, take a wider view, drink a glass of water, and stay in the corner or leave the classroom in order to calm themselves down whenever they are about to throw tantrums. The teacher should reason with the students only after they have calmed down;

keep in close contact with the students’ parents for consistent behaviour management at home and school; and discuss with parents on the students’ reaction to medication; and

apply peer pressure properly; arrange the nearby students to remind them to write their school diary and hand in their homework properly.

Measures for Tier-3 Support

If the students still show serious attention deficit, the school may provide more intensive individualized support measures and formulate IEPs for them. Please refer to the sample IEPs at Appendix 10(ii).

When the students show satisfactory progress consistently, the support measures provided can be restored to Tier-2.

Example 2: Support for students with ASD

Measures for Tier-1 Support

As many students with ASD have strong abilities on visual identification, teachers may adopt thinking tools and organizers such as mind maps and concept maps to help consolidate their learning;

Use simple, clear and concise instructions. If necessary, repeat the instructions to ensure that they understand the instructions; or

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Employ various assessment methods, e.g., let the students demonstrate their strengths and enhance their self-esteem through project learning.

When there is no improvement and the students with ASD

cannot get along or have frequent conflicts with peers, the SST should consider providing Tier-2 support. Concurrently, Tier-1 support measures are still provided.

Measures for Tier-2 Support

Draw up behaviour contract with the students for their improvement of self-control and ways of expressing emotions. The class monitors may assist in monitoring the students’ progress;

Enhance students’ social and communication skills through small group training and appropriate feedback;

Assign the students with ASD to be peer tutors and assist the lower form students to solve the problems in mathematics. This can demonstrate their strengths and reinforce the skills learnt in their social skills training groups; or

Co-teaching may be adopted in science laboratory lessons. The teaching assistant may help the students to collaborate with others in a small group.

Measures for Tier-3 Support

If the students still have frequent conflicts with other students after the provision of Tier-2 support for a period of time, the SST should discuss with the parents and students concerned to escalate to Tier-3 support and formulate IEPs for them. Please refer to the relevant sample IEPs at Appendix 10(iii).

When the students consistently show satisfactory progress, the support measures can be restored to Tier-2.

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Example 3: Support for students with ID

As the students with ID always show significant difficulties in learning, support measures from Tier-1 to Tier-3 are provided after the SST’s deliberation.

Measures for Tier-1 Support

Employ diversified teaching strategies to help the students understand abstract instructions to enhance the effectiveness of teaching. For example, using real objects and gestures as aids to supplement verbal instructions and provide visual cues, etc.;

Help the students concentrate through seating arrangement, e.g. arrange the students to sit near the teachers and away from doors or windows;

Praise the students in the lessons in order to enhance their self-image, initiative and motivation to learn.

Measures for Tier-2 Support

Find out the core content that is closely related to the students’ daily life for teaching in each subject through curriculum tailoring, so as to increase their participation in classroom learning;

Make use of multi-sensory teaching, such as visual, auditory and tactile means, etc. to help students understand the content;

Help students consolidate what they have learnt in lessons with appropriate homework accommodation and remediation after school;

Employ diverse question types, provide appropriate prompts to aid the understanding of the questions, and allow different ways of answering so that the objectives of assessments are achieved;

Provide the students with remedial support groups, such as social skills training group, speech therapy and

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paired reading scheme, etc. Measures for Tier-3 Support

If the students cannot grasp the basic content of some subjects, or show inadequacy in self-care skills and social skills, the SST should consult the EP and discuss with the parents and students concerned for formulating relevant IEPs. Please refer to the relevant sample IEP at Appendix 10(iv). At the same time, the support measures of both Tier-1 and 2 should to be provided continuously.

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Chapter 7 Assessment Accommodation

Section 17.1 of “The Code of Practice on Education” related to the DDO (The Disability Discrimination Ordinance) states, “Educational establishments should ensure that their assessment mechanisms do not discriminate against students with disabilities. Teachers are advised to use a number of assessment methods in order to allow students, including those with disabilities, to display their competencies”; Section 17.3 states, “Educational establishments should critically review their assessment methods adopted to ensure that they serve the purpose of the assessment”; and Section 17.4 states, “Sometimes the curriculum for students with disabilities is tailored in order to meet their individual needs…..The content as well as the method of assessment should also be adjusted having regard to the tailored curriculum.”

7.1 Formative Assessment Assessment is an indispensable part of the learning and

teaching process. Formative assessment refers to the ongoing assessment of pupils' learning and progress throughout the course. It can also help teachers adjust teaching methods or contents and formulate the learning targets in accordance with students’ performance. Schools may formulate various assessment accommodations to address the needs of individual students instead of adopting one type of assessment for overall students. The assessment accommodations designed for individual students including oral test and examination, project learning, learning profiles, presentation with pictures or charts instead of written presentation, students taking assessment to each other or self-assessment etc. can be adopted to collect the evidence of students’ learning outcomes. As a result, students’ learning motivation is sustained by success experience in the learning process. Hence, the daily formative assessment in school may vary widely according to the individual needs of students. For example, dictations can be so individualized as to enhance the student’s understanding of his own progress (that is, for self-comparison).

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7.2 School Internal Summative Assessment

Summative assessment is used for measuring what a student has learned at the end of the learning and teaching process, and let the student know how much has been achieved and the difference compared with other students (compared to the achievement of others). It can be conducted in the middle or at the end of the school year. Therefore, the accommodation for summative assessment should be conscientious and follow the principle of fairness. Schools may not adopt multiple test papers as the assessment accommodation because the assessment objective and content should not be altered. For example, schools should not read the test papers to the students in language subject examinations, nor allow students to apply spell-check function during writing skills examination. Schools should not reduce the difficulty level of the examination paper by providing words for students to choose from. Such practices are direct alterations to the content and objectives of the assessment. If schools have made such alterations, they should indicate the difference on the student report card, and hence their examination results are not comparable to that of other students.

Some forms of assessment accommodation are suggested below:

(1) Design of examination papers

For comprehension-type questions, teachers should place respective parts of questions and answers on the same page or place them on two separate sheets in juxtaposition to facilitate reading; and

If the assessment aims at testing understanding instead of language skills, use simple and concise words in questioning, so that students can comprehend the questions easily.

(2) Time arrangement

Students with dyslexia or intellectual disability may be given extra time in the examinations;

For students with hearing impairment, intellectual impairment, autism spectrum disorder or speech and language impairment who have difficulties in

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processing information, if the assessment involves receptive and expressive communication skills, the teacher should adjust the speed of playing the audiotapes. The teacher should also find out if the student’s difficulties are due to cognitive problems or just communication difficulties; and

In oral examination, longer response time may be allowed for students with communication difficulties and allowance should be given to misarticulation of words.

(3) Exemption for parts of the examination papers

For instance, teachers may exempt students with severe and profound hearing impairment from listening comprehension examinations or Putonghua examinations; exempt students with physical disabilities from physical education assessment; or do not count the dictation scores of students with dyslexia; and

If part of the examination paper is exempted, schools may project students’ total marks based on the parts tested; but the teacher needs to note that the proportion of the exempted parts should not be excessive.

(4) Other special arrangement

General special examination arrangements include the provision of technical aids, appropriate examination settings, seating arrangement, allowance of extra time for taking the examination and intermission.

Regarding the suggestions on school internal assessment accommodation for students with SEN, please refer to the document on special arrangement on school internal assessment for students with SEN (Chinese version only) available at the Education Bureau’s website: http://www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/TC/Content_3296/SpecialExamArrangement_04012011.pdf

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7.3 Public Examinations

Schools should pay attention to the correspondence issued from the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) regarding the deadline of application for sitting the examinations and special arrangements for the candidates with special needs. During the application, schools should attach the valid documents with professionals’ recommendations, including the up-to-date documents issued from the Hospital Authority, Department of Health, Education Bureau, registered doctors or specialists (such as audiologists, speech therapists or educational psychologists) to certify the candidates requiring special needs. The school is also required to submit the relevant reference, if any, on the past special arrangements of the examination made for the students. For details, please refer to the HKEAA leaflet on Providing Services to Candidates with Special Needs. This leaflet can be accessed through the HKEAA website: http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/Candidates/Special_Needs_Candidates/

7.4 Parent Participation

(1) The school should consult both the teachers and the parents in full details on the special examination arrangements to be made;

(2) Through the SST meetings, the specialists, teachers concerned and student’s parents can make joint decisions and conduct regular reviews on the special examination arrangements to be made for the student during internal examinations. The resolutions and suggestions should be documented f